Cindy Mitchell's Blog – September 2009 Archive (5)

Selfors, Suzanne Coffeehouse Angel, 288 p. Walker Books, 2009. $16.99. Content: G. Katrina works mornings and nights in her aging grandmother’s throwback coffeehouse. It’s so very hard to make ends meet, especially with the modern coffeehouse next door always looking for a way to push them out. Then Melissa does something nice for a boy she finds sleeping in the back alley. Next thing she knows,, he says he is a Messenger and he now owes her her heart’s desire. Katrina doesn’t… Continue

Kaye, Marilyn Gifted: Out of Sight, Out of Mind, 229 p. $7.99.Content: G. Amanda is more occupied with being her middle school’s Queen of Mean, than taking time to pity any sort of lower life forms. Then she wakes up in the body of one of her main targets – nobody Tracey – and Amanda will have to resurrect the magic power that she has spent all of these years suppressing if she wants her own life back. Amanda’s not the only one at her school with special powers, though. There’s a… Continue

Dunkle, Clare The Walls Have Eyes, 225 p. Atheneum (Simon), 2009. Martin Glass is free and his little sister, Cassie, is in good hands, but Martin wants his mom to be out of the bubble and its dangers too. So back in goes Martin, with his faithful ‘bot dog Chip. Martin will have to stay on his toes, think really fast, and hope for some help from a few friends – including one friend whom no one could have predicted – if he wants everyone he loves to come out of this adventure… Continue

Nayeri, Daniel and Dina Another Faust, 387 p. Candlewick, 2009. Content: G (creepy, but safe). Five years ago, five ten-year olds were given a choice. Now, they are in New York as teens, with their mysterious governess, Madame Viceroy, prepared to become the top of the heap at an ultra-exclusive prep school. Victoria, Valentin, Belle, Bice and Christian Faust (yes, Faust) each have special powers, which can wither help or hinder their climb to the top and who cares whether it is a… Continue

Klise, Kate and M. Sarah Klise Over My Dead Body, 116 p. Harcourt, 2009. $15.00 All is proceeding nicely at 43 Old Cemetery Road. Olive is her usual ghostly self, Grumply is not quite so grumpy and Seymour is adoring being loved. Then an anonymous letter sends everything into a tailspin. Someone wants Seymour in an orphanage, Grumply in an old folk’s home and Olive declared non-existent. Will the three friends be able to weather this storm? Once again the Klise sisters have a… Continue